'I loved rugby': Lionesses star opens up on her possible alternative career path

In another life, Jess Carter could have spent this summer representing England on the rugby field instead of the football pitch.

The England defender picked the round ball over the oval ball aged 16 and has gone on to represent the Lionesses at two major tournaments, and she will be pulling on her national shirt once more when the UEFA Women's EURO 2025 gets underway next month.

But if women’s rugby had enjoyed the stature it does today, she could have lined up for the Red Roses as they go for glory themselves on home soil this summer.

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“I loved rugby, I still to this day say I was better at it than football,” said the 27-year-old Gotham FC star, as part of a new LG OLED TV collaboration ahead of this summer.

“But it just got to a point where I had to choose between one or the other, and at that time, when I was playing, I think football was developing and progressing at a much quicker rate than what I felt rugby was.

“I think that was why I continued with that, but I used to love playing it.

“It really helped from the team side of helping you to work together as a unit, all being on the same page, for sure.

“Being a defender, it is important that I win all of my individual battles, and that is the same on a rugby pitch. There is definitely a correlation between the two.”

Carter was speaking ahead of a huge summer of sport, and LG is helping the nation get closer to the action with LG OLED TVs.

Both the Lionesses and the Red Roses will be on free-to-air TV across the summer as they chase silverware.

And for Carter, visibility is key to make sure that the next generation knows what is possible for them.

She added: “It is incredible, I would love to have been able to know that I could have been a female rugby player as a profession if I wanted to.

“But I felt like there wasn’t really an option, it was just that I was playing women’s rugby as a hobby. I didn’t even know you could do rugby as a profession.

“Obviously now that is an option, and I think it is really amazing that the Red Roses are paving the way, similar to how we are, and they are now setting the standard.

“They are proving, like we are, that you can play anything you want to and compete at any level you want to.”

Members of the two England women's teams caught up with LG at St George's Park recently as part of the leading TV manufacturer’s ongoing partnership with The FA and the RFU. The LG All In Pledge encourages people to engage and watch women's sport. Together we can grow support through fandom and audience numbers to inspire new players to pick up the sport themselves, as watching changes everything. For more information, go to www.lgwomens-sportpledge.com .